Critters! And More Critters!

Yep! That's a big jackrabbit, all right! You'll find him sprawled in the dappled shade of a pedestrian plaza in Tempe, AZ, along with several of his friends. (Climbing aboard, though, is frowned upon.) And, yes, those ears will likely tower over your head.

Here are three flightless birds (or rather the representative skeletons of those three flightless birds) that you are never likely to meet: the towering moa, the mid-size great auk, and the smaller dodo. Lacking flight, these criiters could not avoid their greatest predator: man.

Some backyard Canadian geese | Source

And yet here are birds you are ever so likely to encounter: Canada geese, prevalent throughout North America, grazing in a suburban back yard.

Fan coral | Source

You might not realize that corals are living creatures — well, more precisely: vast colonies of living creatures. Coral polyps group together in symbiosis with certain algae, and deposit chemicals to create their ornate 'highrises'. Every species of coral polyp ends up creating its own distinctive style of home.

Dragon (during takeoff) | Source

This mythical creature, captured in bronze, appears to alight from a gatepost in Cambridge, MA.

Zoo attraction | Source

These long-lived favorites of circuses everywhere communicate in the wild with rumblings so low they cannot be perceived by humans, yet travel far through the earth.

Flamingo munching | Source

The pink hues of the flamingo result from the pigments of ingested crustaceans. The more plentiful the shrimp, the more vibrant the color!

Quite the reach | Source

Though giraffes are known for their long tongue and legs and neck, it might surprise you to know that a giraffe has no more neck vertebrae than you do.

Hammerhead approaches! | Source

In this view, you can see the distinctively intimidating fin forms of this large predator. This guy must've wandered a bit too close to Woods Hole, MA, where he now occupies a key display position in the Oceanographic Institute.

Polly, the Dow CowNo pins, please! by rlz Yes, after the stunning success of Dolly, the cloned sheep, we now have Polly, the Dow Cow! The first fully-synthetic domestic farm animal ever, this full-size inflatable bovine is a boon to dairy farmers everywhere! No more..

The CactooseA lone Cactoose in rare form. by rlz Before development and relocating Americans began encroaching on their territory, the Cactoose grew wild throughout many parts of the Southwestern U.S., particularly in the more desolate reaches of desert. Like...

Elephants make the best pets!Have your own circus! If you want to really enjoy the experience of having a companion animal, helpmate and best friend all rolled into one, you can’t do better than getting an elephant. For starters, you will finally silence that neighbor’s...

The Whopper SpanielYummy little yapper! by rlz This meaty little creature is every American's favorite (and a particular hit with little boys everywhere)! Whether one prefers them plain, or with the works, it seems it's hard to resist the frisky antics of these...

Butt OxButt Ox This bizarre and striking member of the cattle family originated, appropriately enough, in lands that are now part of the tiny East African nation of Djibouti. Situated embracing a western spur of the Gulf of Aden known as the Gulf of...